![]() |
Mike Pender | |
---|---|
![]() Pender in 1965 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Michael John Prendergast |
Born | Kirkdale, Liverpool, England | 3 March 1941
Genres | Rock, pop |
Occupation(s) | Musician |
Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar |
Years active | 1950s–present |
Member of | Mike Pender's Searchers |
Formerly of | The Searchers, The Corporation |
Website | mikependersearchers |
Michael John Prendergast MBE (born 3 March 1941), known professionally by the stage name Mike Pender, is an English musician. He was an original founding member of Merseybeat group the Searchers. [1] He is best known as the lead vocalist on many hit singles by the Searchers, including the song "Needles and Pins" and "What Have They Done to the Rain?".
In his early years, Pender worked at a printing company (Charles Birchall & Sons (Liverpool) Ltd.) as a day job in between playing nightly gigs with the Searchers. According to Pender, he is responsible for choosing the band name for the Searchers. "The band was founded by myself and John McNally. In 1957 John and I went to see the film The Searchers starring John Wayne. I was an ardent Western fan and so I dragged John along with me to see it. I take the credit for choosing the name 'the Searchers' and for co-founding the band in its original form". Some years ago, Mike Pender claimed to be a member of two fictitious groups he played in before his years with the Searchers.
After the Searchers recorded the singles "Sweets for My Sweet" and "Sugar and Spice", Pender took over lead vocal duties from Tony Jackson. During the late 1970s, the Searchers were signed by Seymour Stein's Sire Records and recorded two modernised albums, including "The Searchers" and "Play for Today", which was retitled "Love's Melodies" outside the United Kingdom. The Searchers recorded what would become the final single with Pender, I Don't Want to Be the One.
Pender left the Searchers in 1985 to pursue a solo career and in 1988 joined an all-star rock band known as the Corporation a.k.a. the "Travelling Wrinklies", whose name was a parody of the popular rock group Traveling Wilburys.
That band included Pender, Brian Poole (Brian Poole & The Tremeloes), Clem Curtis (The Tornados), Tony Crane (The Merseybeats) and Reg Presley (The Troggs). With the Searchers continuing to perform, Pender was replaced by a new vocalist, Spencer James.
Pender pursued a solo career after leaving the Searchers and released one solo single before forming his current band, Mike Pender's Searchers who perform songs from his many years with the Searchers in addition to all-new material and a blend of popular rock standards by classic artists such as Buddy Holly, the Drifters and Roy Orbison. Selecting a group of talented musicians, Pender sought to re-create the unique sound that popularised the Searchers. Forming the band "Mike Pender's Searchers", they began touring in the late 1980s and re-recorded the Searchers' hits plus four new tracks.
Various CDs, featuring these new tracks and the re-recordings, have been released in various countries around the world. Mike Pender's Searchers continue to book new shows and tour, targeting Britain, Australia, the U.S., the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark and the United Arab Emirates. In 1994 Mike Pender's Searchers were the very first 1960s band to be invited to play on board the QE2 as part of the world famous liner's 25th anniversary celebrations.
Over the years, some of Pender's personal guitars have included his Gibson ES-345 with sunburst finish, the Burns Tri-Sonic in the colour of red with three pick-ups and the twelve-string Rickenbacker Rose Morris model 1993 coloured in a fireglo finish with deluxe features including the f-hole rather than the slash sound hole. Other guitars he has played include the Aria twelve-string guitar, his Danelectro Bellzouki twelve-string made from wood and hardboard, and the solid Rickenbacker 450/12 in an elegant mapleglo finish, which had a converter comb, which allowed it to be converted into either a 6-string or 12-string guitar. Pender's Rose Morris model 1993 was stolen several years ago; it had been used on many of the Searchers' studio recordings in addition to numerous live performances.
On 2 June 2009, Pender's son, Nathan, aged thirty-nine, was riding home from work on his motorcycle, when he was hit and knocked off his vehicle. [2] Nathan died two days later, from complications of a head injury sustained from the accident. [2] Forty-nine year-old police officer Eric Hulse was arrested for hitting and killing Prendergast. [2]
Pender announced he would temporarily step down from touring for around six months, starting from December 2022: [3]
I will have a break for about six months. My wife and I will be doing a bit of travelling around the world which will be nice to do.
Pender was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2020 New Year Honours for services to music. [4] [5]
Album details | Year |
---|---|
Meet The Searchers
| 1963 |
Sweets For My Sweet – The Searchers At The Star-Club Hamburg
| |
Sugar and Spice
| |
It's the Searchers
| 1964 |
Sounds Like Searchers
| 1965 |
Take Me for What I'm Worth
| |
Second Take
| 1972 |
Searchers
| 1979 |
Play For Today
| 1981 |
Title (A-side) | B-side | Year |
---|---|---|
"Sweets for My Sweet" (originally recorded by The Drifters) | "It's All Been a Dream" | 1963 |
"Sweet Nothin's" (originally recorded by Brenda Lee) | "What'd I Say" | |
"Sugar and Spice" (original version/first release) | "Saints and Searchers" | |
"Needles and Pins" (originally recorded by Jackie DeShannon) | "Saturday Night Out" (UK and US 2nd pressings) "Ain't That Just Like Me" (US original pressings) | 1964 |
"Süß ist sie" ("Sugar And Spice" in German) | "Liebe" ("Money" in German) | |
"Tausend Nadelstiche" ("Needles and Pins" in German) | "Farmer John" (in German) | |
"Ain't That Just Like Me" (originally recorded by The Coasters) | "Ain't Gonna Kiss Ya" | |
"Don't Throw Your Love Away" (originally recorded by The Orlons) | "I Pretend I'm with You" | |
"Someday We're Gonna Love Again" (originally recorded by Barbara Lewis) | "No One Else Could Love Me" | |
"When You Walk in the Room" (originally recorded by Jackie DeShannon) | "I'll Be Missing You" | |
"Love Potion No. 9" (originally recorded by The Clovers) | "Hi-Heel Sneakers" | |
"What Have They Done to the Rain" (originally recorded by Malvina Reynolds) | "This Feeling Inside" | |
"Magic Potion" (originally recorded by Lou Johnson)Note: Australia only | "Everything You Do" | 1965 |
"Bumble Bee" (originally recorded by LaVern Baker) | "Everything You Do" (US first pressings) "A Tear Fell" (US later pressings) | |
"I Don't Want to Go On Without You" (originally recorded by The Drifters) | "A Tear Fell" | |
"Goodbye My Love" (originally recorded by Jimmy Hughes)(US single shown as "Goodbye My Lover Goodbye") | "Till I Met You" | |
"Verzeih' My Love" ("Goodbye My Love" in German) | "Wenn ich dich seh'" ("When You Walk In The Room" in German) | |
"He's Got No Love" | "So Far Away" | |
"When I Get Home" (originally recorded by Bobby Darin) | "I'm Never Coming Back" | |
"Don't You Know Why" | "You Can't Lie to a Liar" | |
"Take Me for What I'm Worth" (originally recorded by P. F. Sloan) | "Too Many Miles" | |
"Take It or Leave It" (originally recorded by The Rolling Stones) | "Don't Hide It Away" | 1966 |
"Have You Ever Loved Somebody?" (originally recorded by The Hollies) | "It's Just the Way (Love Will Come and Go)" | |
"Popcorn Double Feature" | "Lovers" | 1967 |
"Western Union" (originally recorded by The Five Americans) | "I'll Cry Tomorrow" | |
"Second Hand Dealer" | "Crazy Dreams" | |
"Umbrella Man" | "Over the Weekend" | 1968 |
"Somebody Shot the Lollipop Man" (Released under the pseudonym "Pasha") | "Pussy Willow Dragon" | 1969 |
"Shoot 'Em Up Baby" (originally recorded by Andy Kim) | "Suzanna" | |
"Kinky Kathy Abernathy" | "Suzanna" | |
"Desdemona" | "The World Is Waiting for Tomorrow" | 1971 |
"Love Is Everywhere" | "And a Button" | |
"Sing Singer Sing" | "Come On Back to Me" | 1972 |
"Needles and Pins" (re-recording) | "When You Walk in the Room"/ "Come On Back to Me" | |
"Solitaire" (originally recorded by Neil Sedaka) | "Spicks and Specks" | 1973 |
"Vahevala" (originally recorded by Loggins & Messina) | "Madman" | |
"Hearts in Her Eyes" (given to the group by The Records) | "Don't Hang On" | 1979 |
"It's Too Late" | "This Kind of Love Affair" (UK) "Don't Hang On" (US) | |
"Love's Melody" (originally recorded by Ducks Deluxe) | "Changing" (UK) "Little Bit of Heaven" (US) | 1981 |
"Another Night" | "Back to the War" | |
"I Don't Want to Be the One" | "Hollywood" | 1982 |
Title | Year |
---|---|
Ain't Gonna Kiss Ya
| 1963 |
Sweets For My Sweet
| |
Hungry For Love
| 1964 |
Les Searchers Chantent En Français
| |
The Searchers Play The System
| |
When You Walk In The Room
| 1965 |
Bumble Bee
| |
Searchers '65
| |
Four By Four
| |
Take Me For What I'm Worth
| 1966 |
Rickenbacker International Corporation is a string instrument manufacturer based in Santa Ana, California. The company is credited as the first known maker of electric guitars – a steel guitar in 1932 – and today produces a range of electric guitars and basses.
A twelve-string guitar is a steel-string guitar with 12 strings in six courses, which produces a thicker, more ringing tone than a standard six-string guitar. Typically, the strings of the lower four courses are tuned in octaves, with those of the upper two courses tuned in unison. The gap between the strings within each dual-string course is narrow, and the strings of each course are fretted and plucked as a single unit. The neck is wider, to accommodate the extra strings, and is similar to the width of a classical guitar neck. The sound, particularly on acoustic instruments, is fuller and more harmonically resonant than six-string instruments. The 12-string guitar can be played like a 6-string guitar as players still use the same notes, chords and guitar techniques like a standard 6-string guitar, but advanced techniques might be tough as players need to play or pluck two strings simultaneously.
Jangle or jingle-jangle is a sound typically characterized by undistorted, treble-heavy electric guitars played in a droning chordal style. The sound is mainly associated with pop music as well as 1960s guitar bands, folk rock, and 1980s indie music. It is sometimes classed as its own subgenre, jangle pop. Music critics use the term to suggest guitar pop that evokes a bright mood.
Michael John Cloete Crawford Rutherford is an English guitarist, bassist and songwriter, best known as co-founder and lead guitarist/bassist of the rock band Genesis. He and keyboardist Tony Banks are the group's two continuous members.
Chris Curtis was an English musician. He was best known for being with the 1960s beat band The Searchers. He originated the concept behind Deep Purple and formed the band in its original incarnation of 'Roundabout'.
The Searchers are an English Merseybeat group who emerged during the British Invasion of the 1960s. The band's hits include a remake of the Drifters' 1961 hit, "Sweets for My Sweet"; "Sugar and Spice" ; remakes of Jackie DeShannon's "Needles and Pins" and "When You Walk in the Room"; a cover of the Orlons' "Don't Throw Your Love Away"; and a cover of the Clovers' "Love Potion No. 9". With the Swinging Blue Jeans, the Searchers tied for being the second group from Liverpool, after the Beatles, to have a hit in the US when their "Needles and Pins" and the Swinging Blue Jeans' "Hippy Hippy Shake" both reached the Hot 100 on 7 March 1964.
Anthony Paul Jackson was a British musician. He was known for being a member of the Merseybeat band The Searchers.
Brian Poole is a singer and performer who was the lead singer of 1960s beat band the Tremeloes (1957–62) and then Brian Poole and the Tremeloes (1962–66).
Mike Pender's Searchers contains lead singer and guitarist Mike Pender, formerly of The Searchers. Pender left The Searchers in December 1985 hoping to explore new musical directions while preserving the classic 12-string guitar style that he helped to popularise. Mike Pender's Searchers showcase the classic hits from Pender's many years with The Searchers in addition to his all-new material and a blend of popular rock standards by classic artists such as Buddy Holly, The Drifters and Roy Orbison.
The Corporation was an English pop group that was active in the 1980s and formed by musicians previously in popular, hit making, English bands of the 1960s.
John McNally is an English guitarist. He was a member of The Searchers, a band he formed in 1959, who were a big part of the Mersey sound in the early 1960s. He was the longest serving member of the group, touring in the band from 1957, until their retirement in 2019, as well as their 2023 farewell tour.
Meet The Searchers is the 1963 debut and most successful album by British rock band The Searchers. The album featured their first single released in June 1963, a version of the Drifters' "Sweets for My Sweet", which was a UK No.1 for the band, as well as their version of the Clovers "Love Potion No.9", which was released as a single in the U.S. the following year. "Love Potion No.9" peaked on the US charts at No. 3 on 19 December 1964. The album was also released in Canada, Germany and South Africa, often with track listing changes.
Sugar and Spice is the second studio album by the British rock band The Searchers released in 1963. This album features the band's second big hit single "Sugar and Spice". With two successful Top 5 albums in three months, and two other Top 3 hit singles at the time, the group proved to be the strongest to emerge from Liverpool next to the Beatles and Gerry and the Pacemakers. They solidified their position further with another album track, "Ain't That Just Like Me", which was later released in the US and hit #61 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Anthony "Tony" Crane MBE is an English musician, who is best known as the co-founder of the Merseybeats. Tony has toured with the Merseybeats since its inception in 1961.
It's the Searchers is the third studio album by English rock band The Searchers. It features the band's famous hit singles "Needles and Pins" and "Don't Throw Your Love Away" as well as cover versions of some well known tracks originally recorded by Betty Everett, Carl Perkins, Don Gibson, The Drifters or Tommy Tucker. It was also the last Searchers album to feature singer Tony Jackson. The album peaked at No. 4 in the UK album chart.
The Searchers Meet The Rattles is the second US live album by English rock band The Searchers and the first US LP by German rock band The Rattles. The Searchers recorded their set in March 1963 at the German Star-Club during their Hamburg residency. The album contains songs that Mercury Records had withheld from its predecessor Hear! Hear!. Songs by The Rattles are taken from their album Twist Im Star-Club Hamburg released in Germany on Philips Records in 1963. The only other country that released The Searchers Meet The Rattles was Canada.
Searchers is the seventh studio album by the English rock band The Searchers, sometimes referred to as a comeback album. It is the Searchers' first album of original songs since their 1965 Take Me for What I'm Worth and the first which entered Billboard Top 200 since The Searchers No. 4. Album contained songs originally written by Tom Petty, Bob Dylan or The Records and featured guest appearances by Bob Jackson, ex-Badfinger, on keyboards.
German, French + Rare Recordings is the German compilation album by English rock band The Searchers. The collection includes their hits as "Needles and Pins", "Don't Throw Your Love Away" or "When You Walk In The Room" sung in German and French and is a complete catalogue of their singles and rarities issued on Liberty Records in the sixties. This was the band's second rarities album, the former being The Searchers Play The System – Rarities, Oddities & Flipsides, which was released in 1987.
"He’s Got No Love" is a song written by Chris Curtis and Mike Pender and released by British pop rock group The Searchers. The song was released as a single in July 1965 by Pye Records in the United Kingdom and later on Kapp Records in the United States. It became a hit in 1965 in both countries.